Numbers matter, although it's fiercely disputed

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Norway is the only country that conducts commercial whaling
legally, because it has not agreed to the International Whaling
Commission's moratorium. This week Norwegian fishermen began their
hunt for a quota of 797 minke whales in the North Atlantic.

In the Antarctic, there is evidence that some whale numbers are
rapidly recovering from last century's badly managed slaughter. But
population sizes are fiercely disputed by scientists at the
International Whaling Commission.

Minkes: Japan argues that under a return to commercial
whaling it could sustainably kill 14,570 minke whales over five
years. It relies on a long-standing population estimate of about
760,000. Australian scientists believe there may be as few as half
that number.

Humpbacks: The coastal migrations of the cosmopolitan
humpback make counting easier, and they appear to be reviving
rapidly. The east Australian stock, hunted down to as few as 200,
was growing at about 11 per cent a year and now stands at about
7000, says the Southern Cross University Whale Research Centre. The
West Australian coast has double this.

Fins: If there is any continuing Japanese appetite for
fin meat, it's because the species was the main target after World
War II. A population of 500,000 crashed under factory whaling to
25,000, according to the Australian Action Plan for Cetacean
Research. The commission has no agreed estimate.